Odd Couples
by RevSue
Summary: Sometimes minor characters in a movie have a story and a romance too....


Odd Couples

_Rating: T (It's a romance, yes, but not too steamy! More in keeping with the time of the movie/book – 1955...)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters since the Eloise movies and the characters are the property of Disney and Kay Thompson. I make no money from this work of fiction!_

Victor Peabody shook his head when, while walking rapidly past, he happened to notice Nanny and Sir Wilkes standing together at the table in the Palm Court. Nanny and Sir Wilkes? An odd couple indeed! He couldn't imagine either of them ever having enough to say to each other, let alone actually having TEA together! What would they talk about? Eloise? He grimaced. That child was so unlike his OWN lovely daughter, Rachel. Rachel. He hadn't heard from her for a while, and was surprised to find that he missed her every bit as much as he had when he had first insisted she go away to Europe to study three and a half years ago. Then he looked up as he entered the lobby, as alert as ever when it came to his beloved hotel. The police were questioning everyone. Victor groaned inwardly when he discovered the cause of the disturbance. HOW could this have happened? Losing a prince?

He noticed Mrs. Daniels angrily pushing past one policeman, shaking her head vehemently then boarding the elevator. A moment later, Sir Wilkes was hurrying up, also brushing aside the policeman as he got on to the same elevator. Victor frowned. Now Sir Wilkes was following Mrs. Daniels? He knew the two mostly by hearsay, although he belonged to the same club in New York City as Sir Wilkes and had spoken to him on occasion there. To be quite honest, Victor hadn't thought Sir Wilkes was that much of a ladies' man! Granted, Mrs. Daniels was known as a bit of a... shark, perhaps was the word... when it came to titled men, but he wouldn't have thought those two would have as much in common as, well, as NANNY and Sir Wilkes!

Taking his private elevator up to his office, Victor dismissed all thoughts of Sir Wilkes, Nanny and Mrs. Daniels and concentrated on the problem at hand... that is to say, how to correct the obviously bad publicity which would come with the news of the missing young prince.

O o O o O o

One day in late Spring, Victor was again passing through the lobby when he happened to notice Bill coming in from outside with a tray and dishes piled on it. Not happy with the sight of the young waiter for reasons of his own, Victor went right to Alphonse Salomone's office to ask abruptly where the food might have gone. After all, this was a five-star hotel, not a takeout place!

Mr. Salomone looked blank, and Victor's lips tightened. Then the ever-obsequious Mr. Salomone called Miss Thompson, who could only confirm that Bill regularly took food outside around noon, so she assumed someone had ordered it. She had no idea who it might have been. Finally Victor was forced to break down and speak to Bill, something he had been loathe to do since sending his daughter away because she seemed to be becoming too attached to the penniless waiter. Victor wanted much, much more for his beloved Rachel than a waiter, however personable the lad might be!

Now he stalked over to Bill, who looked surprised at being accosted by the owner of the Plaza Hotel himself, and demanded harshly, "Where are you taking that food?"

"Err, Eloise buys, ummm, Maggie lunch most days, and Maggie doesn't feel comfortable coming in here to eat it, so I take it out to her, then bring the dishes right back."

"Eloise." Victor winced. That child again! Then he frowned again. "Maggie?"

"Maggie drives one of those carriages for tours around the city. There, that's her," and Bill pointed out the pleasant-looking woman sitting up on her carriage seat, smiling at the passersby.

"We ARE getting payment for the meal, then?" Victor asked, and when Bill confirmed it shortly, Victor shrugged and let it go. He had more important things to do than worry about a hungry woman, however attractive she might seem at first glance!

Eloise had once more taken to haunting his office, telling him he absolutely HAD to do something to make sure that Nanny and Sir Wilkes ran into each other more often, not to mention keeping Mrs. Thornton's nasty little dog away from HER beloved turtle, Skipperdee! Come to think of it, Victor mused as he made his way up to his office, he HAD spoken to Nanny more than a few times lately. Just yesterday the woman had come to apologize for something Eloise had done, and Cornelia had sent her through then brought in a tray with some drinks on it. Although Nanny had been flustered and uncomfortable to start with, she had relaxed when Victor had offered her a drink and she had accepted a beer. Fortunately, Victor hadn't had to say much, as a relaxed Nanny was quite loquacious, and he had found out quite a bit about the other inhabitants of the top floor of the Plaza. In the end, when Nanny was going, once more apologizing profusely for Eloise's exuberance, Victor had invited her to return anytime. He now felt he knew the woman as more than merely a name and a face on the sixteenth floor. Still, he found it hard to imagine why the child thought Nanny and Sir Wilkes should be a couple, Nanny's supposed attraction to the other gentleman notwithstanding. Nanny, when not paralysed by discomfort, was very forthcoming and almost as exuberant as her charge, whereas Sir Wilkes had always given Victor the impression of being shy, withdrawn and somewhat backward despite his wealth and apparent business acumen.

O o O o O o

A few months later, when he had the rare opportunity to be at loose ends for an afternoon, Victor was staring out of his office window at the sunny summer day. Suddenly he realized that the woman, the carriage driver for whom Eloise sent food via Bill, was sitting across from the hotel entrance, waiting in line with others for tourists to hire their horse-drawn carriage tour services. What was her name again? Meg? Michelle? Margaret? No, Maggie! Although he would never have called himself impulsive, Victor informed Cornelia that he was going to be out for a few hours, and he strode downstairs and across the street. He should probably settle this for once and for all, and find out whether it was the WOMAN'S idea that she get take out from one of the classiest hotels in New York City!

The woman smiled warmly at him when he caught her eye. "Hello, Sir! Would you be likin' a tour of our fair city?"

"Where would you take me?" Victor asked, thrown off track immediately while trying to place her accent. It SOUNDED Irish, but.... all he was really convinced of was that she had a husky, attractive voice which made him think of candlelight dinners and romance. He was definitely losing it!

"Wherever you ask me to!" came the cheerful and instant reply. Her smile broadened, lighting up her face.

His head was instantly filled with many delicious, erotic, forbidden scenarios. Victor couldn't take his eyes off her, wishing that she would remove her top hat thereby allowing him to see her blonde head in its entirety, and numbly mumbled, "I don't have much time..." He instantly wondered if he had taken leave of his senses.

"The quick-like-a-bunny tour it is, then!" she smiled. "Climb on! There's a robe if you need to cover up, but I'm thinking it's a mighty fine day indeed for a tour of this fair city! A finer city you won't be finding anywhere on God's green earth!"

Victor, even as he climbed obediently into the carriage, mused that she had a lovely smile. He wondered how old she was... and when checking for a wedding ring was somewhat irritated to see she was wearing leather gloves. Then he was convinced he had been bewitched, bothered and bewildered. What did he think he was doing? Checking out a carriage tour driver? Going on a carriage tour of his own city? He must be mad! He was MUCH too busy for this sort of foolishness! Still, keeping his eyes fixed on the woman in the driver's seat, he settled back on the padded seat.

The woman clicked her tongue, shook the reins and said to the horse, "Come on, Leo! Good boy! That's a good boy...." and they were off.

Maggie introduced herself and kept up a running commentary as she expertly drove the horse around the city. The hour he had resolutely devoted to this whim opened Victor's eyes to his own city, but much more to the woman driving the horse. He gradually came to the realization that she was very much like, well, like Nanny – it seemed that there was a lot of wisdom packed behind a jovial, ebullient exterior. That thought caused him to ponder again the enigma of Eloise's insistence on a relationship between Nanny and Sir Wilkes.

When Maggie had pulled back up in front of the Plaza Hotel, Victor thanked her sincerely for a most enjoyable time, and paid her quickly, adding a handsome tip. Her smile was very wide as she invited him to return anytime.

"I most certainly will," he promised, not quite certain whether the fervency with which he spoke was for her or to convince himself.

Charlie greeted him with a salute at the door, and Victor nodded, inwardly hoping the man had not seen him getting down from the carriage. What would people think if they heard that the owner of the Plaza Hotel had been 'slumming', so to speak? Then he scoffed at his fears, angry that such thoughts had even crossed his mind. He had actually his time with Maggie very much, and hoped to repeat the experience.

Striding through the lobby, Victor checked momentarily when he noticed Bill with a tray of covered dishes heading out the door. Seeing Mr. Salomone look at him inquiringly, Victor carried on up to his office suite, then looked out the window. Sure enough, Bill was standing by Maggie's horse, feeding it a carrot while the woman was eating. She handed back the dishes, laughing as she spoke to Bill.

O o O o O o

"Thank you for the eats, Bill, and thank her highness!" Maggie chuckled. "Ain't I grand today?"

"Business good?" Bill asked, packing up the tray neatly.

"Never better, this being a fine day and all. Why, such a tip I got from the last gentleman, just a few minutes ago! You might have seen him, since he just went in to your hotel before you came out!"

Bill frowned, first saying, "It's not MY hotel!" then adding as he thought back, "and I don't remember seeing anyone in particular. What did he look like?"

"Oh, he was a VERY dapper gentleman, to be sure. A few years older than me, I should think. Distinguished graying hair, short and well-trimmed gray whiskers, slim, quite good-looking I must say..."

"You DO sound interested in him. Thinking of going on the prowl?" the young man grinned teasingly.

"Oh, go on with you now!" She tossed her head somewhat indignantly, but shook with laughter.

"Anyway, I didn't see anyone going through the lobby. Well, Mr. Peabody came in, but..."

"Mr. Peabody?" Maggie wondered at the dismissive tone in Bill's voice. After all, the man was his boss. To be sure, she had never met the man, but she couldn't imagine Bill disliking anyone for any reason! "But he owns the Plaza! HE wouldn't be out wasting his time riding around in a carriage! The man I'm meaning couldn't be HIM, for sure and certain!" Maggie said firmly. "Well, there's nothing to be done for it but to just ASK his name next time I see him, IF I ever do."

"You do that! Bye now!"

"Thanks again for the fine meal, Bill, and thank Eloise... and take care crossing the street, honey!"

"Yes, Mommy...!" came his exasperated snort, bringing a faint smile to her lips.

Maggie watched thoughtfully as the young man made his way back into the grand hotel. She wished he had been more forthcoming as he had grown older. It would be nice to know just what had happened almost four years ago to have caused such a change in the effusive, outgoing lad when it came to the owner of the Plaza Hotel.

O o O o O o

It was only two weeks later when Maggie turned from brushing Leo at the tap on her shoulder to find the man, who had occupied her thoughts frequently over the last fortnight, standing behind her. "Mornin' there, Sir!" she greeted him almost breathlessly, trying to ignore her quickened heart-beat at seeing him again. "Might I be interesting you in another tour?"

"Not a tour, maybe, as much as a drive... and some company." he said quietly. "I need to clear my head."

"Oh?" Instantly she was sympathetic and more than ever aware of him. A feeling of tenderness welled up inside her, so big and wide and deep that it was almost painful.

"Yes. I... there are a lot of problems associated with..." he paused.

"With?" Maggie prompted, feeling it might be better to get everything out in the open right away.

"Business such as mine," he concluded rapidly.

Maggie smiled softly, having discovered his identity only yesterday when looking through a magazine. Having been amazed that he would have taken a carriage ride at all, she was quite pleased now that he had come back as he had said he would. "You mean, business such as running a five-star hotel, Mr. Peabody?"

"Oh! You know who I am?" His eyes burned into hers.

He sounded almost disappointed, she thought, then she shrugged that crazy thought away. "I do, Sir. What I don't really know is why you'd be needin' the company of the likes of ME!" she said frankly. "Be that as it may, you're more than welcome to a ride. 'Tis a grand day to clear the head!" She only hoped that her OWN head would be cleared of these impossibly romantic thoughts about this man. Her nerve endings were buzzing, knowing he was seated so close behind her.

After they had driven in silence for a while, Victor leaned forward. "Maggie? Would you mind, well... talking? I really DID enjoy the tour you gave last time... all your comments about sights I should have known about for years!"

Maggie half-turned in her seat and flashed him a radiant smile, not noticing how he caught his breath. "I was trying to give you room to think, Mr. Peabody! I thought you might prefer that..." Then, before she could censor herself, she added, "So you've not been avoiding me on purpose for these last two weeks, then?"

"I haven't been avoiding you," His eyes darkened even as the corners of his mouth curved up. "I have DEFINITELY not been avoiding you. In fact..."

Swallowing at her accelerated respirations caused by his intent look and deep voice, Maggie interrupted him. "How long do I have?"

"How long?" He sounded confused, then his face cleared. "Oh, for the tour! If you could kindly spare an hour?" he suggested politely, ever the consummate gentleman, she thought privately.

"An hour, it is! Come on, Leo! Now, over there, Mr. Peabody, is the famous theatre where Julie Andrews, the newcomer to Broadway and to the grand U.S. of A. itself, is performing. Have you seen The Boyfriend yet?"

"I'm afraid I don't go to many shows," Victor said flatly, not even glancing in the direction of the theatre she had indicated.

"I've heard it's wonderful." Maggie was going to add that her son had raved over the young star, but she held her tongue and changed topics, sensing that there was something about theatre that bothered Mr. Peabody.

She carried on talking about first one sight then another, and soon the man was speaking more often, offering opinions about various businesses and architecture. In short, the two had a very good conversation for the next forty-five minutes, until Maggie regretfully pulled up in front of the Plaza again. This time she would have refused payment, but Victor pressed the money into her hand and thanked her profusely for the morning's ride and visit. For some strange reason, the touch of his fingers burned through her brown leather driving gloves. Maggie closed her hand over the money AND the tingling sensation.

"I may come again?" he inquired, and Maggie shook off her strange reactions.

"Anytime, Mr. Peabody!" she beamed.

O o O o O o

In no time, their rides and visits became a weekly occurrence. Maggie and Victor found they could and did speak about anything and everything. At times it seemed there was an almost tangible connection between them, and Maggie had to struggle to remember that he could never be interested in her as a woman. Still, his voice was so often deep and seductive, his gaze challenging and intense, that Maggie began to realize it was a losing battle. She was VERY attracted to him. It was the first time since her husband's premature death that she had felt this way about a man, and she could hardly believe it had happened now... with Mr. Peabody of all people!

For his part, Victor gradually became aware that he had started to feel again. He never would have admitted it aloud to anyone, but Maggie had managed to touch him, deep inside where no one, himself included, had ventured for a long time. He wasn't sure what, if anything, he planned to DO about their... relationship, for want of a better word, but he was determined to keep it up. On one occasion going out shortly before noon, he asked her to pull up near a relatively empty part of Central Park, and produced a picnic basket full of goodies which they shared on the carriage's lap robe spread out on the grass.

After their meal, Maggie re-packed the basket, then looked at Victor somewhat expectantly, assuming he would be in a hurry to leave. Instead, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Shrugging, Maggie unbuttoned her coat and stretched out herself, tipping her hat to shade her eyes from the hot sun. Victor sighed heavily and Maggie opened one eye, then both and grinned to see him propped up on one elbow staring down at her lying beside him. "Are you ready to be headin' back to work, then, Mr. Peabody?" she asked pertly, thinking she was successfully hiding her awareness of his body close to hers.

Victor, however, had seen the flare in Maggie's eyes and he lost his head. In a quick movement that took her breath away, he rolled over to partially pin her to the ground, his body hard against hers while his mouth covered hers in a heart-stopping kiss. She was suddenly on fire, wildly alive to every touch and sensation, her blood pounding through her veins. For a moment she yielded, even responded to his urgent passion, then with a choked cry she was tearing herself out of his arms and scrambling to her feet even as he did the same. Panting softly, bodies still humming with pleasure and throbbing with desire, they stared at each other.

"I'm... I DO apologize, Maggie! I don't know what came over me... I..." Victor was mortified, ashamed of losing his self-control in such an adolescent manner. When she had removed her gloves to eat, he had seen her gleaming wedding ring! He struggled to subdue his anger at himself, and said, "It will not happen again. I... I know you are married...." Maggie opened her mouth to explain about her husband's death, but Victor hurried on. "My rash behaviour was unforgivable. I should not have seized you or..." His eyes darkened at the memory and his gaze flickered for an instant to Maggie's mouth, her lips soft and swollen from his kisses. He broke off, then he fumbled in his pocket and pressed a crumpled paper in her hand, grabbed the picnic basket and strode away through the park in the direction of the Plaza.

Maggie watched him leave, still too caught up in the roiling mix of desire and confusion to even move. Her heart gradually stopped pounding. At last she bent to scoop up her gloves and the lap robe, and realized he had given her a hundred dollar bill. Sliding it into her pocket and slowly going back to her carriage, she packed the robe away, then rubbed Leo's nose, murmuring, "Oh, Leo, I tried so hard not to care... Why does it make me so happy that he kissed me... and so angry that he thought he had to PAY me for the kiss?"

Needless to say, the horse said nothing, only snuffled at her shoulder. Maggie gave him a final pat and climbed back into her place on the carriage, taking a deep breath and resolutely putting the picnic out of her mind... at least for a few hours.

It did not come as a surprise to Maggie at all that she didn't catch even a glimpse of Victor for the rest of that week or the next, but she WAS surprised when, one day, he was back mid-afternoon. Neither one spoke of the kiss, although it remained foremost in their minds and made their first few meetings a little tense. Gradually, however, they slipped back into the comfortable groove they had established in early summer although they never again allowed themselves near enough to touch. Even when an extremely busy Christmas with all its attendant responsibilities drew near, Victor would find time to get away for an hour every week to ride with Maggie. He managed his timing well, and no one at the Plaza, not even the inquisitive Eloise, noticed his absence.

One day in mid-December, Victor leaned forward suddenly as she was steering carefully around a parked car. Ever since their kiss in the park, he had tried to be more impersonal, but now he admitted it had been a losing battle. "Do you have a daughter, Maggie?" he inquired.

Finally she could set him straight about her marriage! "Me? Not I! I've a son, to be sure, a fine lad indeed, but me husband, God rest his soul, passed on before giving me the daughter he had promised me."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he said quietly, although inwardly he was exultant. She was free! "I'm a widower myself. I... I have a daughter. I just got a letter from her. She's coming home to be married at Christmas."

"Married, is it? Oh, that's grand!" Maggie was sincerely pleased for Mr. Peabody and his daughter.

"Yes, I ... I wasn't sure who else to tell. She hasn't been home for four years..."

"Hasn't been home for HOW long? What in God's green earth has been keeping her away?" Maggie was astonished.

"Rachel was going to university in Europe... she'll never know that sending her away was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"And you haven't seen her in four years?" Something was nagging at the back of Maggie's mind. His daughter's name was Rachel? He had 'sent' her away? Why was that name familiar...?

"Of course I have. I've gone over every year. I just... didn't feel it... prudent... for her to return here... There were... issues... well, they've been resolved, I suppose, with news of her wedding..."

Issues? Suddenly the penny dropped. Bill! Of course! Many things now became clear to Maggie... why Mr. Peabody was uninterested in theatre, why Bill hated to speak of Mr. Peabody, why the lad had become so unhappy four years previously and had refused to open up to her... Mr. Peabody must have found out that Bill and Rachel were involved and had broken up the budding relationship by sending his daughter far away... Maggie didn't know what to think. She wanted to hate Mr. Peabody for interfering in the young people's lives, but she couldn't reconcile that emotion with the feelings that had grown in her heart and mind for the man she had come to know so well over the last six months.

Then Maggie realized that he was still speaking, and she forced herself to concentrate. He had changed the subject, it appeared. "Do you know Nanny?" he asked abruptly.

"Nanny? Indeed I do," Maggie said warmly. "And Eloise is keeping me up to date on Nanny's romance."

"Romance?" Victor repeated, astounded. "NANNY?"

"To be sure! With none other than Sir Wilkes himself! Although I'm not certain that the romance isn't mostly in Eloise's mind..." Maggie grinned.

"I should think it probably is," Victor was somewhat aghast at the thought that he might have missed something like that. A romance? He knew Eloise was convinced that Nanny was attracted to the knight, but he had neither seen nor heard anything to back up the child's conviction. "I suppose it's a matter of opinion, and I can understand why Nanny might be interested in Sir Wilkes since he IS quite a distinguished gentleman and outstanding in his field of business, but, well, Nanny is simply... a nanny! I found her quite amusing to visit with and even wise about many things, but to be truthful, what could a knight possibly have in common with her? Don't YOU find it rather odd, Maggie? It's, well, it's just not something that is done in this world! Not MY world, at any rate!"

Maggie turned away momentarily, hiding the fact that her lips had tightened. Her harder grip on the reins had Leo moving along at a faster pace than usual. So, Mr. Peabody was a snob, was he? She hadn't thought him truly capable of believing in a class system. Indeed, she had thought much better of him. What was wrong with Nanny and Sir Wilkes having a romance? Maggie personally thought it was lovely, and was secretly hoping that Eloise was right about the other couple!

Then, not having noticed the difference in Maggie's demeanor, Victor changed the subject again. "There's been another problem looming at the Plaza. It has been brought to my attention that one of the long-term residents is no longer able to pay her bill. I'm afraid there's nothing for it but to... well, turn her away. After all, the Plaza is a business and services must be paid for."

"You would turn someone out right before Christmas?" Maggie reined in Leo and turned around, horrified.

"No, no, of course not!" he said quickly. "But I'm going have to warn her that it will happen, and she will have to find another place to live. I'm sorry, but that's the reality of it and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"I suppose you are right," Maggie said, her voice heavy with disapproval. She noticed he looked at her somewhat askance, and flicked the reins again. "Come on, Leo! Let's go!"

Pulling up across from the Plaza, she just nodded when he told her to feel free to stop in anytime she wanted anything. "For what it's worth, it's too cold to be eating outside now, you know," he said teasingly.

Maggie was feeling so annoyed at him that she did not reply to the man, and as soon as he was clear of the wheels, she was directing Leo to leave again. Not looking back, Maggie didn't realize that the owner of the Plaza Hotel stood still staring after her, puzzled by her unusual behaviour.

O o O o O o

On Christmas Eve, Maggie found herself outside the Plaza Hotel at 9:00 p.m. Her son had not come home that day, nor had he left on the vacation he had had planned. She knew he had already postponed his trip for one day, but he had not been at the station this afternoon when she had gone to wish him a Merry Christmas and a safe trip. She couldn't help but worry about him, knowing that the wedding was to have been this afternoon. Where was he? What was he doing? Rather helplessly, she sat outside and stared at the imposing hotel.

Then a taxi pulled up and a woman got out. Maggie was surprised to recognize Eloise's mother. She had been introduced to Kay quite a while ago now. Having heard from Eloise earlier today that her mother had been snowed in at the airport in Paris, Maggie knew the child would be over the moon to have her mother home now. Maggie glanced up at Eloise's window on the sixteenth floor, but the child wasn't there. Deciding to go in to wish Eloise a very, very Merry Christmas now that she and Nanny wouldn't be alone, Maggie covered Leo and went up to the hotel hesitantly, greeting Charlie on the steps outside.

"Bill's just inside," Charlie said. "Merry Christmas, Maggie."

"Merry Christmas, Charlie," she returned softly before ascending the last few steps to the imposing door of the Plaza. She removed her gloves and shoved them into the pocket of her heavy coat which she unbuttoned as she pushed through the revolving door.

Surprised to see quite a few people grouped around the piano by the huge Christmas tree in the lobby, Maggie's eyes picked out Mr. Peabody right away. When he happened to glance over in her direction, she dodged quickly behind a pillar, biting her lip in agitation and hoping she had escaped notice. Just a few seconds later, her hopes were dashed.

"Maggie? I THOUGHT I had seen you!" Victor was standing beside her, smiling. "Merry Christmas! Come on in and meet my daughter..." He took her arm and tried to draw her over to the crowd singing carols.

"I... I know Rachel..." Maggie stammered, resisting him. "I... just needed to warm up a bit, that's all. And... and to wish Eloise and... and you a Merry Christmas, too, of course. But I expect you'll be having that, this being the day of the big wedding and all."

"There was no wedding." Victor said, no longer trying to move her, but keeping his hand on her upper arm in case she tried to run away.

Maggie stared at him in shock. "Wha...?"

"No wedding," he repeated. "Rachel called it off at the last minute."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Maggie began, but his smile broadened.

"Don't be. Not for her OR for me. My Rachel is happy now – happier than I have seen her this past week... well, except for last night..."

"When she was out with Bill!" Maggie exclaimed, then bit her lip in confusion at his surprised look and admitted shamefacedly that she had brought them home from the theatre and had heard their ravings about the show Gypsy.

"So did you also happen to see Bill in the park afterwards?" Victor asked her curiously.

"Yes," she admitted quietly. Then she looked over at the piano and frowned, seeing Rachel sitting so close to the flamboyant foreigner at the piano. "Who is playing...?"

"Bill," he replied.

Maggie's mouth fell open, and her eyes searched the features of the man seated on the piano bench. Then her lips curved up, and she laughed up at Victor. "It IS Bill! I wouldn't have recognized him!"

"Not even his own MOTHER would recognize him, I'd say!" Victor grinned back at her, his eyes roving over her dear face. He had been so hoping she would come soon, as he had looked for her unsuccessfully that afternoon following the aborted wedding.

"You're right about THAT!" Maggie said with an emphasis that rather puzzled Victor.

He added, "It was Rachel's idea to dress him up so that we could convince Mrs. Thornton that she can stay at the Plaza."

"Mrs. Thornton is staying? I thought you said..." Maggie had thought she'd been shocked enough this evening, but Mr. Peabody kept surprising her every time he opened his mouth.

"Well, Sir Wilkes heard via the grapevine, a grapevine incidentally probably named Eloise, about Mrs. Thornton's predicament, and he came to me this morning and offered to pay everything that was owing and to keep paying her bill for as long as necessary."

"Th-that's very generous..."

"Indeed. And I don't know how long you've been in here, but I've got the feeling Nanny will be quite happy to reward him for his generosity..." he confided.

"Nanny?"

"Yes. She kissed him, you know. In front of everyone. And I rather got the impression this morning that Sir Wilkes was not at all averse to a relationship with Nanny." Victor had been astounded, but when Sir Wilkes had hesitantly told him that morning that he greatly admired the woman and felt so wonderful to know that she thought so highly of HIM as no other woman aside from his mother ever had, Victor had realized that perhaps Eloise had not been wrong after all. There was indeed possibility for romance here. And if a knight and a nanny could... Victor was almost afraid to finish his thought.

It was one jolt after another for Maggie, but this one made her happy. "Oh, I DO hope so!"

"As for Bill, my Rachel adores him and says she won't marry anyone but him. So I suppose I'm going to be getting ready for another wedding in the very near future! I just hope Rachel follows through with this one!"

"Rachel and Bill are getting MARRIED?" Maggie gasped, then her body flooded with joy and her face lit up. "Oh, I am SO happy for them both!" Then she remembered his previous comments about differing classes and she added, "So, a waiter and an heiress CAN find happiness together, as can a knight and a nanny?"

Victor shrugged and said gravely, "The world is changing, Maggie."

"Yes, it is indeed, Mr. Peabody." Maggie spoke demurely now, her eyelids lowered to hide her dancing eyes.

"Please, call me Victor... you've been a good friend for these past few months, Maggie." He looked up, saw a sprig of mistletoe dangling over Maggie's head and looked back at her, suddenly knowing what he wanted to do, what he HAD to do, what he should have known was coming for months now.

As she smiled up at him, he lowered his head without warning and kissed her. Maggie froze, not sure what her response should be. How could he possibly kiss her in such a public place? Victor paid no attention to her lack of response. He took off her top hat and dropped it on the floor beside them. "I've always wanted to see you like this," he whispered, running a gentle hand over her hair. He took her face in his hands, smoothing his thumbs over her cheeks as they gazed into each other's eyes. "You're so beautiful, Maggie... inside and out." Then he kissed her again and as he deepened this kiss, Maggie began to respond almost against her will.

"Mr. PEABODY!" Prunella's shrill voice sent them apart guiltily. The woman's horrified expression was priceless. "How... how COULD you? With a... a STREET person like HER! You, such a rich, well-connected man... and in the lobby of your own hotel! She can ONLY be after your money, you know!"

Hearing the catch in Maggie's breath and seeing colour flood her face, Victor wanted to wring Prunella's neck, but he restrained himself. "That's enough, Prunella. You think I am slightly unhinged from the drama today, is that it? Well, you might be right. At any rate, I do believe that what I do personally is none of your business."

Prunella looked for a moment as if he had slapped her. She stood with her mouth opening and closing foolishly for a second before snapping it closed and turning to walk smartly away.

"And good riddance..." Victor murmured, watching her go. Then he turned to see Maggie looking quite upset as she stared after Prunella's retreating figure then back at him.

"Vic-Victor! Please tell me you don't think I'm... just after your money..."

He would have laughed if he hadn't seen her devastated expression. He wanted to kick himself for going too fast. He should have known that her ingrained doubts would not disappear quickly. "I'm counting on the fact that you'll look past my money to my gorgeous, aging body..."

She laughed, a stinging sound. "Right. And what would a man like you be wanting with me besides MY aging body? Could you be telling me that?" she scoffed, her Irish accent coming through faintly. She began to back away from him.

He could list a million things he wanted with her... laughter such as he had never enjoyed before, even with his late wife or beloved daughter... a new way of seeing the blue sky and the wonders of the world around him... love of life breathed back into his sterile existence... Maggie was pure gold and she didn't even know it. Not knowing how to tell her this, he instinctively reached out for her instead, drawing her back into his arms and kissing her again almost before he knew what he was doing.

Maggie responded with a tiny wince, her palms against his chest not because she was pushing him away, but because he had surprised her and she had gone off balance. His arms encircled her, desperately holding her and making her feel safe, and suddenly Maggie was bubbling with happiness. Her hands inched up until they were clasped around his neck, and she returned his kisses enthusiastically. She pressed closer to him, seeking the warmth that only he could bring her. "Victor..." She breathed his name as a sigh against his lips.

"Daddy?"

Victor jerked his head up at the soft sound of his daughter's incredulous voice, but kept his arms around Maggie tightly so she couldn't escape, although she began to wriggle in an attempt to free herself. His eyes met Rachel's for a moment, then, as Maggie continued to struggle against him, he looked back down at her. "Keep that up," he said in a low, strained voice, "and we'll BOTH be embarrassed in the lobby of my five-star hotel!"

"Oh!" Maggie suddenly realized what her efforts had accomplished in his lower body, and she stilled instantly as her face went scarlet. Then she buried her burning face in his chest with a faint moan of embarrassment.

When Victor glanced back at his daughter, it was to see a lovely, genuine smile spreading across her face. "Oh, Daddy, I hope you'll be as happy as I am!"

"I'm certain I will be, sweetheart. Quite certain!" and his arms tightened even more around the woman he loved.

Bill came up at that moment, put his arm around Rachel's waist and smiled at her father. Then he did a double-take when he recognized the woman in Victor's arms. "MOM?"

Maggie lifted her head up swiftly at the sound of Bill's voice. She opened her mouth to speak, but words wouldn't come out because her throat was too dry.

"Mom? Maggie is your MOTHER?" Victor was staggered as he stared at Bill. He looked down at Maggie and, still incredulous, said, "BILL is your son?"

Maggie nodded, cleared her throat and managed to croak, "He... he doesn't look like me, I know, being so handsome while I..."

"You're MUCH lovelier than he is," Victor said firmly to Maggie, and Bill grinned widely.

"Oh, Daddy, isn't it a WONDERFUL Christmas? You and Maggie, Bill and me... it looks like we're going to be one big happy family from now on!" Rachel said happily. "Aren't we?"

"Are we?" Now Victor was gazing intently at Maggie again, and he repeated in a low, significant voice, "Are we?" His arms tightened around her.

Maggie was afraid. She had so many scars inside, she was afraid to hope and dream. But he was waiting for a response from her. And yet, what was he asking? If they were going to be a family? She spoke in a husky voice, not trying to get away from him anymore, "Well, if Bill and Rachel marry, we'll be related..."

"Maggie..." Victor bent and pressed a kiss on her startled lips, stopping her words and her heart for an instant. Then he continued speaking. "Maggie, I would be honoured if you would consider being family. You need to know that even though I don't deserve to have someone like you in my life, I am also selfish enough to overlook that fact, and I intend to pursue you until you can't resist me. Now that I've realized I love you, I intend to marry you!"

"You LOVE me?" Maggie gasped. "Oh, no, NO! You can't... it's not right...!"

"Nothing has ever felt MORE right!" Victor insisted, his hands pressing her lower body into even closer contact with his. Maggie's knees went weak with the force of her own arousal.

Bill and Rachel laughed. "I think you should listen to him, Mom," Bill advised her. "My future father-in-law likes to rule the roost here, you know."

Maggie's eyes went from Victor's to Rachel's to Bill's, then drifted over the lobby, barely registering that Sir Wilkes had just pulled Nanny fully into his arms under another bough of mistletoe and was kissing her deeply while Eloise grimaced and turned away to her mother. Maggie looked back to Victor, and her body relaxed suddenly in his arms. "I give up," she smiled. "I can't resist you, Victor. I have never been able to resist you. I, well, I was attracted to you from the moment I first saw you, and I didn't even know who you were! I... I love you too."

O o O o O o

As she methodically packed her things, knowing she could no longer remain at the Plaza where the entire world seemed to be going mad, Prunella Stickler marvelled at the odd couples she had seen that very night. An heiress and a waiter. A knight and a nanny. And now a hotel owner and a carriage tour driver. What WAS the world coming to?

THE END


End file.
